As may be seen from a review of the below cited patents, the prior art has failed to contemplate a system as taught in the present invention. Further, the patents cited below are fully distinguishable from the invention in construction and use, and indeed some of them are from different arts and not part of the art to which this invention pertains.
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Date ______________________________________ 1,590,590 Seymour et al 06/29/26 1,675,163 Colburn 06/26/28 1,897,186 Buchanan 02/14/33 2,077,613 Bondeson 04/20/37 2,547,932 Downs, Jr. 04/10/51 3,058,087 Piasecki 10/09/62 3,492,625 Bromberg 01/27/70 3,609,631 Looney 09/28/71 3,892,455 Sotolongo 07/01/75 3,985,411 Mooney et al 10/12/76 3,988,052 Mooney et al 10/26/76 4,106,832 Burns 08/15/78 4,114,846 Petersen 09/19/78 4,159,859 Shemtov 07/03/79 4,189,198 Reichman 02/19/80 4,210,374 Churla 07/01/80 4,248,490 Bachle 02/03/81 4,623,204 Auclair 11/18/86 4,626,051 Franks, Jr. 12/02/86 4,780,096 Franks, Jr. 10/25/88 4,806,108 Meinhardt 02/21/89 4,828,504 Franks, Jr. 05/09/89 4,863,390 Cera et al 09/05/89 4,887,970 den Hartog 12/19/89 4,954,084 Pugh et al 09/04/90 4,962,285 Baker 10/09/90 ______________________________________
A cursory review of the above cited patents shows that the prior art is indeed clearly distinguishable from and does not make "obvious" the present invention.
Most of these prior patents are directed to one form or another of a clamping device which either strappingly encircles or straddles the outer body of electrical pipe or conduit at an area removed from the end of the electrical pipe or conduit or encircles or straddles the outer body of the grounding pipe, using typically at least several basic parts, along with one or more connecting screws and nuts or lugs.
Another approach is using a threaded end piece, which is screwed unto the end of the electrical conduit and used as a base for securing a number of relatively complex clamping and attaching elements to the end piece; note, for example, the patents to Bromberg ('625), Shemtov ('859), Reichman ('198), Bachle ('490) and Churia ('374).
Still another approach is using a pipe section having an integral ground wire connecting box or protrusion extending out on one side, in which the somewhat unitary device is used as part of the actual water line connected in-line therewith; see, for example, the patent to Burns ('832).
The Baker patent ('285) is directed to a swimming pool deck anchor of plastic material, in which a plastic end piece having an interior ridge is mounted on the end of a plastic pipe, with a multiple element, electrical grounding connector attached to the exterior of the plastic end piece.
It is believed that a number of other patents directed to water pipe and end pipe ground clamp systems therefor can be found in, for example, Class 439, particularly Subclasses 92 and 100.